How Contractors Can Beat High Costs and Labor Shortages in 2026

The development market is feeling the stress nowadays. Materials prices are climbing, and it is getting harder to find skilled workers. Relying on the place you are working, some areas are busier than others.

The upside? Contractors who use good instruments and up-to-date information will keep forward of the curve, even with an uncertain future.

Listed here are three easy methods you are able to do the identical, primarily based on what works, not wishful pondering.

Some components of the trade are busy whereas others are slowing down. In accordance with the latest numbers from ConstructConnect®, development funding within the U.S. is up 7% this 12 months, largely due to industrial, industrial, and army tasks. On the flip facet, sectors like training, medical, and residential are nonetheless struggling.

Should you work within the Western U.S., needless to say project starts are dropping from $177.9 billion in 2025 to about $148 billion by 2027 as large tasks wrap up. Civil development remains to be holding sturdy, although.

So, what does this imply for 2026? The good transfer is to be extra selective together with your bids. Use venture information instruments like ConstructConnect® Project Intelligence to go after jobs that suit your strengths and wishes, whether or not that is your commerce, your space, or season. Once you’re strategic, you chop down on wasted bids, enhance your margins, and are available out on high extra typically.

Searching for assist choosing the right software program? Try our free information: The Contractor’s Guide to Adopting Software with Ease.

Filling development roles remains to be a giant headache. The latest AGC survey discovered that 92% of U.S. development firms cannot discover sufficient employees, and a couple of third say shortages are inflicting delays. To high it off, construction jobs have dropped for three months straight, though pay goes up.

This is what helps: Take the simple, repetitive stuff off your staff’s plate. The extra you may automate the tedious duties—like paperwork, takeoffs, estimates, and monitoring down subs—the extra time your crew has for the essential work.

Instruments like AI-assisted Takeoff Boost™ by On-Screen Takeoff® can pace up your preconstruction work and assist everybody concentrate on successful extra jobs.

Wish to get a head begin on 2026? Seize The Contractor’s Guide to Adopting Software with Ease to see how the suitable instruments may help you roll with no matter comes subsequent.